From mealworm burgers to algae-encased hotdogs, Ikea’s innovation lab is making predictions on what the fast food of the future will look like. In a recent post on Medium, Space10 shared forward-thinking versions of five popular and commonplace foods: hotdogs, hamburgers, meatballs, salad and ice cream.

“To change people’s minds about food, to inspire them to try new ingredients, we can’t just appeal to the intellect — we have to titillate their taste buds,” the Copenhagen-based lab writes.

Space10’s Dogless Hotdog is entirely plant-based with a spirulina bun. The blue-green algae “contains more beta carotene than carrots, more chlorophyll than wheatgrass, and 50 times more iron than spinach,” the lab writes. “Oh, and more protein than a ‘real’ hotdog.”

The Dogless Hotdog is entirely plant-based with a spirulina bun.Kasper Kristoffersen /
Space10

The mealworm-based Bug Burger incorporates a combination of root vegetables (beets, parsnips, and potatoes) while the Neatball comes in two forms: one version is made with root vegetables, the other mealworms.

“And for a true Swedish experience, we like to serve them with mashed potatoes, gravy, and lingonberry sauce,” Space10 adds.

The other two items – LOKAL Salad, and Microgreen Ice Cream – use greens that Space10 grows hydroponically (without soil) in the lab’s basement.

Since then, the test kitchen has been working on developing a wider menu “rooted in an important principle. Dishes shouldn’t just be healthy or sustainable. They must be delicious, too.”

With Ikea flirting with the idea of stand-alone restaurants, and the inventive work of Space 10, it’s establishing itself as a contender in food innovation and research. Although you shouldn’t expect to see these foods in store bistros, the lab says, the concepts are intended to illustrate the kind of meals that could become commonplace, but haven’t quite yet.